A Study of Leukocytapheresis (LCAP) in Patients With Ulcerative Colitis (UC)

Inclusion Criteria: * Patients diagnosed to have UC in the active stage based on clinical symptoms and findings from endoscopy * Patients with pancolitis type or left-sided colitis type lesion of 15 cm or longer observed endoscopically * Patients with Mayo score between 5 and 10 * Patients with Mayo sub-score (findings from flexible sigmoidoscopy) of 2 or 3 * Patients not having received any corticosteroids (referred to as steroids) (p.o., i.v., enema, suppository) within the past 6 weeks Exclusion Criteria: * Patients with a difficulty in peripheral vascular access * Patients having received ACE inhibitor (at least 10 times of its half-life time for interval needed before initiating the treatment) * Patients with toxic megacolon * Patients with a malignant disease or its experience * Patients with a severe cardiovascular disease (grade III or IV by the Classification of heart functions of the New York Heart Association (NYHA)) * Patients with a liver or kidney disease (AST(GOT) or ALT(GPT) or total bilirubin or creatinine level which is 2 or more times higher than the upper limit of normal (abbreviated as ULN, hereinafter) * Patients suspected to have or having HBV or HCV or HIV or pathogenic bacteria * Patients on anticoagulant therapy or with abnormality in the blood coagulation system (PT or PTT levels which are 1.5 or more times higher than ULN * Pregnant women or patients with possible pregnancy * Breast feeding women * Patients weighing 40 kg or less * Patients with hemoglobin level of less than 6.5 mmol/L (10.5 g/dL) * Patients with platelet count of less than 150 x 103/mm3, 150 x 109/L (15 x 104/mm3) * Patients with white blood cell count of less than 3.5 x 109/L (3,500/mm3) * Patients with hypotension (with systolic blood pressure of 80 mmHg or less)